Welcome to my Blog

An Introduction:

You're probably wondering why I'd include writing with counseling.  For me they're intertwined.  My love for the humanities in my early college years led me to become a counselor.  I knew I would either be a writer, an english teacher, or a counselor.  What really drew me toward this field is my desire to meaningfully connect with people one-on-one just as I am able to do with a beloved character in a novel, or an author of a memoir who has triumphed over strife. What happens in the therapy room can be as powerful as what happens in an amazing piece of literature.  In the therapy room people become brave. I often see them as the bravest people I know because they are choosing to explore their own pains and fears so they can heal and go on to live courageous and meaningful lives. How could I not be drawn to this beautiful field of work?  

Counseling is about examining our whole human selves and not just our mental health diagnosis or our mental illness with society's stigma attached.  Isn't that what so much great literature is about too?  We are much more complex than the labels or diagnoses we are given. And we want to be seen and understood just like your favorite fictional character or autobiographical writer.  

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February 24, 2023

Creativity as a Therapeutic Path

When I was a kid I had trouble fitting in, and I am grateful for that because whatever joys and pains we go through in life brings us to where we are now.  That can be good. That can be bad. But since nothing about being a human being is black and white. It is both good and bad and we all fall somewhere on the spectrum.  

There is a therapy approach called Internal Family Systems in which the therapist helps the client see that their internal system is made up of many (or a family of) parts.  That is, our personality parts and the relationships between them that make up who we are.  We are not this way or that way, in spite of some people placing us in neat little boxes with labels attached to soothe their own minds.  Being labeled or judged became an early trigger in my childhood because I hadn't had the time to figure out who I was yet. That is what we all need; time, patience, unconditional love, and understanding to figure out who we are and our purpose in the world.   

What I came to understand about myself after I grew up was that I was a highly anxious child with a vivid imagination, and according to my older half sister, unusually serious for a three year old.  Naturally, this made me stand out as a weird kid so I fell victim to bullying in elementary school that lasted for years. You might be asking what this has to do with with creativity as a therapeutic path? For me--everything. 

It didn't seem to matter what I was creating.  A story. A piano piece. A club. A backyard fair. A treasure hunt. A Halloween party. A Halloween story. Halloween costumes. Seriously--one year my bestie and I were a pair of die, our costumes made from freight boxes and paint.  Anyway, the list goes on, but what matters is what happened to me when I was creating.  

When I was making something, even when I had no idea how to start, I was truly in my happy place because there is something about being creative, or simply making something that can heal you. It is medicine for your soul especially if you let go of obsessing about the results. Just take a deep breath and on the exhale let go of the nagging thoughts that want to keep you from even starting. I would encourage you, if you have yet to explore your creative self, to simply go for it. Make something. You can learn about the craft along the way if your interest in that thing continues to grow. The experimental path of creating has the power to heal you while helping others to heal as well if you choose to share your work. In fact, it has the potential of bringing us closer together, because in the creative process we are opening ourselves to the possibility of unconditional love for ourselves and for each other.  

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